Press Releases

The Officials Secret Acts are being independently reviewed to ensure that the law is keeping pace with the challenges of the 21st century. The Law Commission – an independent body set up to reform the law – has today published a consultation paper which suggests ways to improve the law around the protection of official … Read more >

Every year thousands of borrowers and unwitting buyers of second-hand vehicles are falling victim to unfair logbook loans because the law does not protect them. Logbook loans are a way for borrowers to use their car or van as security for a loan. The lender takes on ownership of the vehicle but the borrower can … Read more >

The law that governs misconduct in public office is unclear, ambiguous and in need of reform, according to the Law Commission, independent law reform adviser to the Government. More people than ever before are being accused of misconduct in public office, and recent years have seen a number of high-profile allegations, investigations and prosecutions of … Read more >

Getting a refund on your cash deposit when a retailer goes bust can be “hit and miss”, according to the Law Commission. Money paid out in advance for items from sofas to mobile phones and services such as football season tickets and even weddings can be lost if the company you are buying from goes … Read more >

The Law Commission is reviewing the legal framework that governs the registration of land in England and Wales. In a consultation opening on Thursday 31 March the Commission – the independent body that advises government on law reform – is asking how the Land Registration Act 2002 is working in practice and whether there are … Read more >

The UK needs a new, modern and rational legal framework to govern the conduct of elections and referendums, according to an interim report published today by the three Law Commissions of the UK. Electoral law in the UK is spread across 17 major statutes and some 30 sets of regulations. It has become increasingly complex … Read more >

What is misconduct? And who is in public office? The existing law that governs misconduct in public office does not provide clear answers to either of these questions, according to the Law Commission. Today the Law Commission launched a consultation aimed at exploring how the current law is being used and discovering the problems caused … Read more >

A new test is needed to establish who is unfit to plead according to the Law Commission. The existing rules for deciding whether a defendant is unfit to participate in a criminal trial – and what the courts should do if they are not – are out of date, misunderstood and inconsistently applied. In a … Read more >

The law that governs how and where couples in England and Wales can marry is badly in need of reform, according to the Law Commission. In March 2015, at the request of the government, the Law Commission began work on an initial scoping review of marriage law. The purpose was to consider whether the current … Read more >

In a report published today, the Law Commission makes a number of recommendations to solve pressing problems that undermine the effectiveness of the law governing the acquisition and possession of firearms. The existing law is confused, unclear and difficult to apply. There are over 30 pieces of overlapping legislation, some of the key terminology – … Read more >